Yesterday, Parliament approved the Division of Revenue Act (DORA) — the law that allocates funds from national to provincial, and local government to deliver basic services like water, electricity, roads, and housing.
But while DORA decides where the money goes, it does not guarantee that anything actually gets delivered.
That is the core problem South African local governments continue to ignore. Today, 63% of municipalities are in financial distress. Infrastructure projects are delayed or abandoned. Conditional grants go unspent or fail to achieve their purpose.
This is not because the framework is wrong or because there is no funding — it is because the system responsible for local delivery has been weakened by failing political actors.
At the centre of that failure is over 30 years of cadre deployment by the ANC.
For years, key positions in the state were filled based on political loyalty rather than competence. The result is clear: weak financial management, poor project execution, and almost no consequence management when things go wrong.
This is where DORA and cadre deployment collide.
DORA moves money into municipalities and provinces however cadre deployment determines whether that money is used effectively.
Right now, money is flowing — but delivery is not following.
Municipalities are expected to deliver essential services, yet they receive just 9.5% of nationally-raised revenue while carrying unfunded mandates exceeding R31 billion. Hundreds of Local Municipalities and most Metros are structurally constrained, politically interfered with and administratively weakened.
The result is a simple but devastating reality: South Africa is spending more, but getting less.
The Democratic Alliance rejects cadre deployment and has been fighting it tooth and nail — completely and without compromise — because it is fundamentally incompatible with a capable state. And importantly, these failures are not inevitable.
Where the DA governs, the outcomes are different. Funds are better managed, infrastructure is delivered, and services reach communities more consistently. The difference is not the funding model — it is governance, professionalism, and accountability.
As part of the Government of National Unity, the DA is pushing inside Government for a clear shift:
- funding must be absolutely linked to performance,
- infrastructure spending must follow measurable milestones,
- failing projects must trigger automatic claw-backs of money,
- and appointments of senior officials and role players must be based on merit — not politics.
Passing the DORA is necessary. But it is not enough.
In the upcoming Election voters can fix how the state is run – or Parliament will continue passing budgets that look good on paper but fail in practice. South Africans do not need more allocations, they need delivery.
And delivery will only come when we end cadre deployment and build a capable, accountable state. That is the choice in the upcoming Election.